The first official Dominion Carver in the Department of Public Works, Cléophas Soucy's work on the sculptural decoration of various buildings on Parliament Hill spanned 30 years. Among the bosses, gargoyles and grotesques he carved for the Peace Tower are caricatures of politicians and both the 19th c. (Fuller) and the 20th c. (Pearson) architects of the Centre Block. He also worked on the Confederation Building and on the National Research Council. He had the assistance of sculptor Coeur de Lion MacCarthy for many of the works carried out in the 1930s and 40s.

From a family of Québec sculptors, Cléophas was the brother of Elzéar and uncle of Donat. Like his brother he was an apprentice woodcarver in his youth. He attended art schools in Québec and studied in the United States. He returned to Canada to work with noted Canadian sculptors, George Hill and Philippe Hébert. In 1919 he began contract work on the parliament buildings in Ottawa.

LINK TO RELATED CANADA'S DIGITAL COLLECTIONS WEBPAGE:
Canadian Sculpture: Brault and Hayward Collections. Use the database to find out about works by Cléophas Soucy.

References:
Turner, Jane, ed. Dictionary of Art. New York: Grove's Dictionaries, 1996.
Wright, Janet. Crown Assets: The Architecture of the Department of Public Works, 1867–1967. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997.

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